TOADFLAX

also called Spurred Snapdragon, any member of a genus (Linaria) of nearly 100 herbaceous plants native to the North Temperate Zone, particularly the Mediterranean region. The common name refers to their flaxlike leaves; the flowers are two-lipped and spurred like snapdragons. Among the prominent members are common toadflax, or butter-and-eggs (L. vulgaris), with yellow and orange flower parts. Native to Eurasia, it is now widely naturalized in North America. Blue, or old-field, toadflax (L. canadensis) is a delicate light-blue flowering plant found throughout North America. From North Africa come the cloven-lip toadflax (L. bipartita) and purple-net toadflax (L. reticulata), both of which have purple and orange bicoloured flowers.